In Canada’s Bay of Fundy the tides are the largest in the world — more than 40 feet in some places. When the tide rolls in and crashes against the rivers flowing out to sea, the results can be spectacular. Peaceful rivers turn into white water rapids as the currents fight with each other to control the direction of the flow. Water spouts explode tens of feet in the air. For hundreds of feet, the water roils and rolls and people come from around the world to witness what is called the “boar tide.”
Baptists also have conflicting streams that seem to be in constant tension to influence the flow of ministerial education.
Historians call one stream the Charleston Tradition named after the first Baptist church in the South, which was established in Charleston, S.C., in 1696. The second is called the Sandy Creek Tradition after the 16-member church in North Carolina that became the fountain of the Second Great Awakening in the South in the mid-1700s.
The Charleston Tradition embraced formal theological education for its ministers and did things decently and in order. The Sandy Creek Tradition was free flowing, emotional and looked for some spirit-filled brother or sister to preach the Word. Charleston gave direction to the earliest church planting and organizational efforts of Baptists. But in the mid-1700s the Sandy Creek church had grown to 600 members and eventually played a role in starting more than 40 churches and three associations from Virginia to South Carolina.
Reflecting on the Charleston Tradition, the late Baptist historian Robert Baker emphasized an “educated clergy” as a primary reason for Baptist growth and expansion over the years. That emphasis is seen in the number of colleges and seminaries Baptists founded and continue to support.
Yet 18th century Baptist historian Morgan Edwards wrote of Shubal Stearns, the leader of the Sandy Creek Tradition, “Of learning he had but a small share yet was pretty well-acquainted with books.” That model endured through the years as farmer-preachers shared the gospel across the South and other areas of the nation.
‘Educated clergy’ value
Both traditions persist today. Alabama Baptists value an educated clergy. Through the Cooperative Program, Baptists support six national seminaries. One of those seminaries — New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary — provides graduate theological education through extension centers in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Rainsville and Tuscaloosa.
Samford University is home to Beeson Divinity School, an outstanding theological educational center training scores of ministers serving Alabama Baptist churches.
At the same time more than half of the Baptist churches in the state are served by bivocational ministers, according to officials at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. While some of these pastors have seminary training, the majority are from the mold of Shubal Stearns. They may have a “small share” of formal theological education but they are “pretty well-acquainted with books.”
Perhaps it comes from long hours by lamplight reading and studying. The pastor of the church where I came to know the Lord had one year in a Baptist college before leaving to become pastor of my home church. I remember him spending hour after hour studying and reading so he would be better prepared to lead the congregation.
Bivocational pastors have to find study time after working another job and doing all the things required of a pastor to care for the members and keep the church functioning. It is no wonder Alabama Baptists have such high appreciation for these men.
Perhaps some of their familiarity with books comes through participation in Samford’s Ministry Training Institute. Since 1947 this ministry has sought to equip Christians to be leaders in churches and communities through theological education and practical ministry training.
Currently the Ministry Training Institute works in more than 30 locations across Alabama and the training is backed up by the reputation and standing of Samford University. Courses there lead to certificates in biblical studies or pastoral ministries. These are not seminary-level courses but one is confident of quality training through the institute.
Both traditions are important and both streams make valuable and enduring contributions to churches and to the kingdom of God. Both also defy stereotypes. Shubal Stearns-type pastors have served some of the largest churches in Baptist life and held top denominational positions. Charleston-type men have served small and rural churches and cared for God’s family through multiple generations.
The conflict comes when the two streams collide by someone claiming to be something that person is not.
Resumedoctor, a resumé writing firm, says one of the most common misleading pieces of information is “inflated education or purchased degrees that do not mean anything.”
Pastors are not the only ones guilty of inflating resumés in this way. Football and basketball coaches have made national headlines by claiming something they did not earn. In 2007, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) learned one of its deans had inflated her resumé and she was forced to resign.
Earning degrees
To earn a master of divinity degree from an accredited school takes three years of full-time study. A doctor of ministry degree requires a minimum of two additional years of full-time study. A doctor of philosophy degree requires a minimum of three years of full-time study beyond the masters. A degree from an accredited school attests to a certain level of training and preparation.
When one receives a degree from a school not accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, the only recognized accrediting agency for seminaries, and then tries to present one’s self as equally trained as the minister who graduated from an accredited school, it is misleading at best.
Writing about the issues, a business recruiter cautioned, “If you convince your employer you are more experienced that you really are, you will be expected to demonstrate the necessary skills when you need to.” That is true for ministers as well. Ministry demands will soon demonstrate whether one is as trained as one claims.
There is nothing wrong with being of the Charleston Tradition. There is nothing wrong with being of the Sandy Creek Tradition. What is wrong is presenting one’s self as something one is not. That is when the waters get choppy and the turmoil begins — for the pastor, for the church, for the community and for Baptists.
No Baptist pastor should ever succumb to the temptation posed by degree mill-type institutions. With the many opportunities of quality training offered across Alabama it simply is not necessary for effective ministry.
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